Pazadai
Pazadai, also known as the King of Maggots, is a Dark Ascended and one of the Hirokir Demonlords. It is the lord of parasites, both literal and figurative. Pazadai is Hirokiri for "Parasite Demon" Origin Long ago, in a city lost to time, there was a nobleman. The name of this nobleman is also lost, but we know his story. The city was, like many Hirokiri cities, ruled by a council of esteemed individuals, but this man wanted to become the king. He began to use subversive tactics to subtly destroy his rivals, and all the while nobody suspected him. This gained the attention of the dark gods, who thought he'd make a worthy champion. They reached out to him one night in his dreams, and gave him a challenge. They would give him access to dark magics, and if he managed to become king they would grant him all the power they could. In the morning, the man found that he had the power to control small animals, and had dark protections that toughened his body and mind. The man who would become Pazadai set to work making a plan. He found that he could easily control large amounts of insects, and began to use them as his spies. One night when a rival was being a particular problem, he caused an enormous swarm of insects to descend upon her as she slept, killing her slowly. The man reveled in this newfound power, and the possibilities it had. He began to cultivate large hives of dangerous insects within his own house, and would sometimes let them feed on his own body. To the dark gods he began to be known as Paza. Paza did however suspect attempts from his rivals to kill him, so to protect himself he began to let these insects burrow within parts of his own body, which would rush out to defend him if he was in danger. His dark-enhanced constitution meant that this didn't hurt him significantly. To serve his schemes, Paza started setting up hives of insects in various parts of the city. Soon the entire city was secretly infested with various parasitic insects. Many of these, after being cultivated by the man's dark magics for so long, were enhanced. One of the man's rivals managed to trace this back to him, and approached his house with a group of Khalazor. As the warriors approached Paza, an enormous swarm of these insects rose into the sky and descended upon the Khalazor and the rival lord who lead them. The lord threw up his hands and summoned a gout of fire that incinerated a large amount of the bugs, but this victory was short lived since some of the guards were secretly serving Paza, and one of those quickly turned around and stabbed the lord in the heart. In the main room of Paza's house, Khalazor fought one another, while more of his insects appeared to turn the tide. However, the rival lord was not quite dead, and with his last breath unleashed a bolt of fire which exploded upon contact with Paza. The house collapsed, and nobody got out. Paza lived however, but was deformed and burned. The dark gods promised Paza a new body if he became king, and thus Paza's determination was increased. A short time later, through intense political manipulation, Paza had become supreme ruler of the city. He stood in front of a crowd, wearing robes to conceal his burns, as the Slahirok began to pronounce him king. And yet, the moment he was given this power, a buzzing could be heard across the city. All of the insects who had been propogating in their hives rose up at once and headed straight towards Paza. He stood with arms open welcoming them, even as the crowd panicked. The creatures began to swarm around Paza, obscuring him from sight. It soon became clear that they were feeding on the new king, but they were also replacing that blood with dark energies. As they left his body, their king stood naked before them, but his burns were gone, he had become tall and muscular, and he was wreathed by a softly swirling dark energy. He had become Pazadai. The insects which used to hide now wandered the streets freely, as their new king explained that these were benevolent creatures. The king wouldn't show himself very often, and mostly spent his time in the palace, without even servants. A rebellious group of Slahirok and Khalazor had detected powerful dark magic connected to their new king, especially during the transformation. They stormed the palace, and found a dark decrepid realm infested with hives of all kinds of insects. The most disturbing thing they found were the living people who had maggots and mosquitoes crawling through their skin, and didn't seem to mind. After fighting through all this, the warriors and mages approached the throne room. Instead of a tall muscular man sitting atop the throne, they found a horrific bloated insect with bulbous eyes and sickly skin. The sight itself was enough to make them feel sick, but the cultivated voice that emanated from the beast was definitely that of their king. The rebels ran forward to try and kill it, but they were quickly beset by swarms of insects and their minds were wracked with pain and confusion from Pazadai's dark magic. The rebels were incapacitated but left alive, kept in a room to be gradually fed on by Pazadai's swarm. Over time the city fell and became nothing more than a nest of demonic insects. Pazadai's constant hunger had eventually drained all the citizens of the city. And so the great demon extended its reach. Appearance Pazadai can take many forms, but not for any great length of time. In its natural form it is a giant horrific mosquito-like bug, with a grotesque and bloated abdomen. It also has a pair of thin withered arms. In this form, it is slightly larger than a horse, and is a sickly green colour. It is often accompanied by insects flying around it, and has dark energy swirling around it. Powers and Limitations Pazadai is weaker than the other demons physically, and so relies on its powerful dark magic, control over bugs, and manipulation whenever it needs to fight. Pazadai is a fan of slowly and gradually corrupting a group, and then by the time they can stop it it's too late. Pazadai's biggest weakness is that it must constantly be drinking blood. It can never rest for it is always busy finding new victims. The blood that its demonic insects drink goes back to itself, sustaining it. If this stops for even a few seconds, Pazadai will wither and die. Pazadai naturally has the greatest reach, being the demon of infestations. It has power wherever its demons and its bugs travel. It can control its bugs with its mind, but only to a certain range. Demons of Pazadai Pazadai’s process of creating demons is long but reliable. As its bugs feed, they also plant eggs in a human’s brain, which fill their mind with dark thoughts as the eggs grow. The only symptom of a corruption is a small pain the human’s head, and dark desires gradually increasing in intensity. The human will find themself becoming greedy and selfish. As the eggs finally hatch, the human undergoes a terrible transformation, becoming a hive for Pazadai’s Parasites. Their skin becomes sickly and filled with holes which maggots crawl in and out of. Many of these demons can transform into giant insects. Pazadai is unique in its capabilities to directly control these demons, through the dark bugs that infest it. However, if they are too far away, Pazadai will assign a Hive-Queen/King. These are demons who have been given the ability to control a group of Pazadai's special demonic bugs. Pazadai has many of these across Hirokir, to extend his reach. Worshippers There are few who revere Pazadai, the Maggot King. Within the heretical city of Uum'Brox, Pazadai has a pyramid and a representative, like any other demon. The Priests of Pazadai in Uum'Brox run the spy network of the city. Most Vampires in Hirokir, and a few across the rest of the world, pay some respect to Pazadai, as fellow bloodsuckers.